Dear Geist,

Can you point my writing pal and me to some interesting writing exercises that we haven’t done a gazillion times? We know all writing work is worthwhile, but how about some new ideas?

—Sandy and Fayette, Drummondville QC

Dear Sandy and Fayette,

Here are a few exercises, photocopied years ago from a book whose title and author we no longer have or remember.

These exercises are designed to get you thinking about your own writing habits in new ways, which is great for reconsidering everything else about your writing. If you do four or five of them in a day or two, your writing brains will be ticking along happily for a good while.

—The Editors